In case anyone purchased from these people:
A Tallahassee couple was arrested Tuesday on charges of using eBay, an online auction, to defraud people of money. Sonja Chester, 29, and her husband, Christopher Chester, 31, both of Cathedral Drive, were charged with scheme to defraud, multiple counts of communications fraud, offense against intellectual property and grand theft, said Detective Rob Waller of the Leon County Sheriff's Office.
Sonja Chester reportedly sold expensive figurines made by collectibles makers such as Armani, Herend and Josef. "In many cases, she was searching for ads on eBay that she saw were selling good," Waller said. "She would take photos and save them on her computer and put them in her own ad." She sold items she did not have for $150 to $1,200.
Chester would send buyers items that were not pictured in her ad. So far, there are about 50 victims nationwide. The couple reportedly racked up about $30,000 since August.
Investigators were made aware of the operation when an eBay user discovered a rare doll was being sold if four or five different auctions. Only one doll was known to be in existence.
Article from the Tallahassee Democrat 10/25/2002 available at tdo.com
A Tallahassee couple was arrested Tuesday on charges of using eBay, an online auction, to defraud people of money. Sonja Chester, 29, and her husband, Christopher Chester, 31, both of Cathedral Drive, were charged with scheme to defraud, multiple counts of communications fraud, offense against intellectual property and grand theft, said Detective Rob Waller of the Leon County Sheriff's Office.
Sonja Chester reportedly sold expensive figurines made by collectibles makers such as Armani, Herend and Josef. "In many cases, she was searching for ads on eBay that she saw were selling good," Waller said. "She would take photos and save them on her computer and put them in her own ad." She sold items she did not have for $150 to $1,200.
Chester would send buyers items that were not pictured in her ad. So far, there are about 50 victims nationwide. The couple reportedly racked up about $30,000 since August.
Investigators were made aware of the operation when an eBay user discovered a rare doll was being sold if four or five different auctions. Only one doll was known to be in existence.
Article from the Tallahassee Democrat 10/25/2002 available at tdo.com
